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L. TORRES.

sUsBBNDBD ROPEWAY. No. 39'8;097.' Patented Feb. 19,1889

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L.-TORRE-S. SUSPENDED ROPEWAY.

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SUSPENDED ROPEWAY. No. 898,097. Patented Feb. 19, 1889.

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L. TORRES.

SUSPENDED ROPEWAY.

N0. 398,097; Patented Feb. 19, 1 889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEONARDO TORRES, OF PORTELIN, SPAIN.

SUSPENDED ROPEWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 398,097, dated February 19, 1889.

Application filed October 12, 1887- Serial No. 252,157. (No model.)

T 0 aZZ whom it may (JON/0677b.

Be it known that I, LEONARDO TORRES, a

subject of the King of Spain, and a resident of Portelin, Spain, have invented certain Improvements in Suspended Ropeways, of which the following is a specification.

The main feature of my invention consists in the construction of a suspended or aerial wire or rope way in which the load to be transported is carried by several wires or ropes, whose tension, independently of the load or weight conveyed, can be adjusted at will, the wires or ropes being arranged in such a manner that the breakage of one rope or wire does not perceptibly increase the tension of the others, and consequently does not increase their liability to break. The new system is applicable to the transport of loads in general, and is safe enough to admit of carrying passengers or travelers.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are diagrams of the theoretical working of the system. Fig. 3 is a view illustrating the structures at opposite ends of the ropeway. Fig. at is a side view, drawn to a larger scale, of the system of pulleys at the drivingstation. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the same. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are sectional views of the several sets of pulleys. Figs. 9 and 10 are views of one of the counter-weights. Fig. 11 is a side view, drawn to a larger scale, of the traveling carriage from which the load is suspended.

Fig. 12 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 13 is a vertical section. Fig. leis a sectional view of the set of pulleys at the upper station; and Fig. 15 is a view of the supporting-frame for these pulleys, but drawn to the same scale as Fig. 3.

Referring to Fig. 1, let a flexible wire or rope incapable of extension and without weight be attached by one of its extremities to a fixed point, A, and pass over a pulley, b, and let this wire or rope carry at its other extremity a weight, P. Let a load, 13, be placed at any point on this wire or rope, and let it be suspended by a pulley, 6. So long as the weight P is suspended in the air without touching either the ground or the pulley b the tension of the wire or rope will be evidently constantwhatever the load 1) maybe. The rope will vary its position within certain limits, de-

small, and is by no means to be compared with that which would be produced it the wire were made fast at the point B. There is no occasion to take it into consideration in connection with the wire or rope ways arranged according to this invention when constructed under the conditions hereinafterspecified.

Now take the case of a wire or rope arranged as represented in thediagram Fig. 2. The two ends of the wire or rope are-attached at g to the load 19, which is to be transported. This load is moreover supported by the pulley e, which travels on the upper line of rope. At the stations at b c are loose pulleys, and d is a pulley that can be driven by power at will, and f f are pulleys by which the two tension-weights P and P are suspended. By

imparting motion to the pulley d the load 19 will be caused to follow approximately the trajectory indicated by the dotted line h, and while the horizontal and vertical components of the tension on the rope will vary with the different positions of the load, the resultant of these componentsthat is, the tension upon the ropewill be approximately constant. It is, however, evident that so long as the tension-weights do not attain the highest limits of their movements neither of the two portions can exceed the desired tension, as each of them is regulated by a tension-weight suspended by the wire or rope and one resting on the ground.

The friction of the pulleys would have a barely perceptible influence on the tension.

After these preliminary explanations I will now describe my system.

A line of rope made according to my invention is composed of two stations, A and B, connected together by means of several parallel wire ropes or their equivalents. The station established at B, Figs. 3 and 4, conof, say, three'horse power, which, by means of a belt passing over a pulley, d, on a shaft carrying the grooved pulleys (I, imparts motion to the wires or ropes. At the front part there is provided a platform, 71, from which the car or bucket n is loaded or unloaded.

The upper part of the tower (see Figs. 4, 5, (i, 7, and S) is constructed as follows: Two beams, F, connected by transverse bars on m '12, support by means of pieces S T the two beams G, which are connected together by transverse pieces 2'. On the transverse pieces in n rest twelve bars, 0, each provided with a bearing, 0, all these bearings being traversed by a shaft, E, carrying twelve loose pulleys, c. ()n the beams F are boltme bearin gs j, which carry the shaft E, 011 which are mounted six pulleys, d, and two other pulleys, d, all. fixed on the shaft E. On the pieces 7 rest seven bars, g, each provided with abearing, q, and all these bearings carry a shaft, E, on which are mounted six. loose pulleys, b. On each of these shafts the grooved pulleys are respectively separated from one another by a distance of ten centimeters, which is the space between the ropes. I place a lIN-Qfll'llig llOl'WGQll each pulley on the shafts E and E, in order that I may be able to make these shafts of very small diameter and thus reduce the friction, which is an important condition for maintaining the tension of the cables.

The tension devices or strainers are of two kinds1n unel luiioll' slrainers l and pulleystrainers Z Fig. 3. V

A pulley-s1 rainer is composed of two parallel vertical sides, It: Ir, Figs. 9 and 10, connected together at the bottom 2 and at the top 2, and provided with a shaft on which is mounted a loose pulley, f. To load or weight the strainers, I employ bars II, of the peculiar form indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 9, being so arranged that their center of gravity is always in the vertical line passing through axis of the pulleyf, and that they can be easily put in place or removed by taking hold of them by their ends. The width ofth'ese bars equal to the distancesbetween the two sides of the strainers. The strainers 2" are arranged in the same manner; but a hook is substituted for the pulley and they aremade somewhat longer.

The station A, l igs. 2, and 23, is titled up as follows: Two bars, M M, l igs..1-;l and 15, are connected together by three transverse bars, N, and by cross-tie rods 3. On the upper barsXthere are secured eleven bearings, Fig. l-l, carrying the shaft a, on which twelve loose pulleys, a, are mounted. The frame M N is firmly fastened to the ground (to a. rock) by the aid of a second frame, S, of suitable. strength to resist the pull of the ropes.

Figs. 1], 12, and 13 represent the machine or carriage which travels on the ropes. This machine or carriage is composed of a shaft, 5, on which are mounted twelve loose pulleys, 6, and thirteen disks, 7, also loose. On the shaft 5 is suspended a frame formed by crossed pieces of wood, 8 9, and six tie-rods, 10. Each of the tie-rods, as well as the pieces 8 9, is fixed to adisk, 7. A basket or car or any other load or weight can be suspended from the hooks 12. This rigid form serves to keep the shaft 5 horizontal, and, moreover, distributes the load uniformly over the shaft, thus enablin the latter to be made very thin.

The pulleys may be constructed on similar principlesto certain velocipede-wheels, with a view to obtaining great lightness. There are also two rigid rectangular frames, 13, Fig. 11, which are secured to the fourth and to the tenth disks, the two bars 13 being connected by tie bars l-l, each tmaninating in two hooks, 15.

All the pulleys of the a )paratus receive ropes .in their grooves. which are made of con siderable depth.

I employ two different kinds of rope, the thicker ropes being each composed of tour steel wires, 1 "20 in diameter, and the thinner one of four wires, 0 in diameter. All these wires are of steel, capable of resisting a tension a] strain. of two hundred kilograms persquare millimeter, and they are all galvanized.

Vith regard to the general arrangement of the line I employ SlX thin ropes, 16, Fig. 12, placed at the center of the line, and six thick ropes, 17, three-on each side. The ropes of the same section being all placed in the same way, it will suffice to explain the arrangement of one of each kind. Each thick rope is attached. at the station A, Fig. 2, to the ground. It passes below the pulley a, Fig. 3, and under pulley 6, then over the pulley c, and is attached to the hook of its strainer t. Each thin rope, on the contrary, is attached to one ofthe hooks 15, Figs. 2 and 12, passes round the pulley a, Fig. 2, returns under the pulley 6, thence round the pulleys c, f, d, f, and b, and is finally attached to the hook 15 on the carriage.

The action of this wireway as follows: The engine X transmits motion by the belt 0, which drives all the pulleys d, and thereby operates the thin. ropes which. haul the ear.- riage. When the carriage commences to move, the weights or strainers gradually rise to a certain point, the carriage being then half -way across, and from this maximum height they commence to descend, so as to return to the lowest position at the end of the journey. It may be observed here that one strainer or weight of each thin rope will be on the ground at the moment of starting.

1 over, vary according to circumstances, and

It is evident that the extent of displacement of the strainers or weights determines the height to which the tower must be raised; but this is a constructive detail which in no way affects the principle.

The wire or rope ways according to this invention are provided, as a matter of course, with suitable means for guiding the weights or strainers in their movements and preventing oscillations, and facilities are afforded for travelers enterin g or leaving the car, which may be lowered for the purpose onto a platform capable of being raised or lowered to the proper height by means of a windlass, T, for instance, and suitable precautions are to be taken by preliminary trials or tests by brakes, by a telegraphic or telephonic communication between the stations, 8:0. It is needless to recite here all these details, which, moredo not form the essential part of my invention.

From the foregoing explanation it will be seen that the distinctive object of my invention is an elevated or aerial wire or rope way presenting the special peculiarity that the weight or load to be transported is sustained by a number of wires or ropes, whose tension, i

being independent of the said weight or load, i

can be regulated at will, the said wires or ropes being arranged in such a manner that the breakage of one wire or rope does not perceptibly increase the strain or tension of the others or render them more liable to be broken.

I claim. as my invention- 1. An aerial wire or rope way having stations, pulleys, and multiple wires provided with tension-weights and a carriage to travel 011 all of the multiple wires and attached to some of them.

9. An aerial wire or rope way having at one end a tower-station and at the other an elevated station, pulleys, and multiple wires passing over them, tension -weights at the tower-station to which some of the ropes are connected, and other tension-weights with pulleys over which other ropes pass, and a carriage to travel on allot the said ropes and also attached to some of them.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LEONARDO TORRES.

Witnesses: J EsUs PEREZ, MARTIN DE VEAT. 

